Diamond in the rough: John Newberry with his $60 winner Diamond Eclipse.
Bunbartha horsemen John Newberry and son Matt made a successful raid on last Friday’s Wagga meeting, landing a double which included a 60/1 winner.
Trainer John and reinsman Matt struck early, getting the major money with Shez Elite, a $6.50 chance who ended a run of 20 starts out of the winner’s circle with an all-theway win, in the opening event.
Matt utilised the eight-year-old mare’s barrier one draw and steered Shez Elite to an easy all-the-way win in PB 1:56.0 mile rate time for the 1740m trip.
The Village Jolt mare was having her 103rd start which have produced seven wins and 31 minor placings and over $68,000 in prizemoney earnings.
The second leg of the Newberry double, Diamond Eclipse, provided John with one of the longest priced winners in his long training career.
The Pet Rock five-year-old gelding was given the run of the race by Matt in the one-one sit and came four wide in the home straight to nab the victory, the seventh of his 51 starts, in a busy finish.
Diamond Eclipse was a $60 chance on the NSW tote and John said that a pacer called Niquero held the honour of the longest priced winner he had trained.
‘‘He won a race at Kilmore shortly after we first moved here in 2010 and was an 80/1 shot.’’
John said Diamond Eclipse’s win had caught him out a bit.
‘‘I was hoping he would run a good race, but I really didn’t expect him to win.’’
John, who has sold off his home block, was too busy relocating and establishing a base on an another area of his property where his training track is situated didn’t get to Wagga to savour the wins.
Both the Newberry winners are bred and owned by John and Matt, so that added bit more satisfaction to their wins.
The Newberrys had three starters at the meeting and the most fancied of these was Hez Harrywho, who was the $4.20 second favourite.
But he raced keenly at the front of the field and tired over the concluding stages.
But John rates Hez Harrywho and believes he will develop into a nice racehorse.
Saturday night’s Melton meeting was not the happy hunting ground it has been in recent weeks for northern Victorian trainers.
The only Goulburn Valley horseman to savour success at the meeting was reinsman Mark Pitt, who piloted the Emma Stewart-trained mare Beach Memories to her second successive victory on the track, having saluted there at her previous start on June 3.
Pitt also drove another of the Stewart team Petillante into a photo-finish second placing, while Tatura trainer Craig Turnbull also had to be content with a runners-up prize with his pacer Dalvey Robyn.
Kyabram trainer Mick Blackmore also had a placegetter at the meeting in smart trotter Bitta Irish Luck who finished third to Aldebaran Miley in sizzling 1:57.9 mile rate time for 1720m trip.
The Finley boys Ashley Haynes and Chris Shaw also celebrated another win at Melton with their in-form trotter Arcee Phoenix.
The four-year-old Trixton gelding made it four wins in four starts in this campaign when he again ran his rivals ragged to notch his sixth win in 18 starts.
Shepparton trainer Steve Duffy’s run of recent success continued at last Friday’s Shepparton meeting when he produced trotter Crookwell Eyes for another win.
Duffy was giving the four-year-old son of Lawman his third start since joining his stable and he has now won two races with the trotter.
Crookwell Eyes scored at Kilmore on May 18 when having his first start for Duffy and was again impressive in his latest win when again driven by Steve’s son Ryan.
Driven quietly Crookwell Eyes produced a sustained final 800m three wide from last to spreadeagle his rivals over the concluding stages.
Crookwell Eyes is owned and raced by Duffy’s mother Lorraine and her husband Brian Johnstone who no doubt get a big a thrill out of his wins being longtime trots stalwarts.
Four-year-old Huntsville gelding Roryville ran his rivals ragged with a dashing display at Shepparton.
Shepparton trainer-driver David Moran unleashed Roryville with 1200m to run and he quickly opened up a big gap on his rivals.
At the finishing post he had 12m to spare over the runner-up Niki Mahoney with Viking, a stablemate of the winner, finishing the race off well for third.
It was start number 15 for Roryville and he has won five of them with four seconds and two thirds with prizemoney creeping towards $50,000.
Shepparton trainer Steve Boyington looks to have a talented trotter on his hands in Kings Guard.
The four-year-old son of top sire Love You handled a pretty smart field with ease at Shepparton in notching his fourth win with four seconds in 11 starts.
Boyington unleashed Kings Guard from last 800m from home and although forced to race wide quickly rounded up his rivals and won running away in a real eye-catcher.
He had over 12m to spare over the runner-up, the Eddie Tappeprepared roughie Im Bobby with the pacemaker, the Echuca-trained Partytime, hanging on for third.
Kings Guard’s mile rate was an impressive 2:01.4, the quickest of his four wins to date.
Apart from being by a top sire there is also plenty of success on Kings Guard’s maternal side with his dam My Valerie boasting 18 wins.
Smart pacers Love Lou Longtime and Swift Watch kept the present winning streak of Stanhope trainer Lisa Pitt and her reinsman husband Mark going with wins at Shepparton.
Those who took the long odds-on on Love Lou Longtime would have raised a sweat despite the chilly conditions because after setting the pace he just hung on to beat the Julie Douglas-trained and John Caldowdriven Alexis Rocket by a head.
It completed successive wins for the pacer who had scored at Echuca at his previous start on May 30.
In nine starts since crossing the Tasman, Love Lou Longtime has scored five wins and two seconds, three of these wins in succession when being trained by Lisa’s husband, Mark, and the last two under the present trainer.
Swift Watch who made a huge impression when he won on debut at Echuca on May 30 had a soft win in a pacemaker’s role.
He didn’t win by the expansive margin he did on debut, but zipped over the 1690m trip in a smart 1:56.9 mile rate time to beat Itzmineontheline.
Trained and driven by Tasmyn Potter Itzmineontheline fought gallantly to the finishing post to post his fifth runner-up placing in his past six starts.
On the other occasion he had posted a win at Shepparton on May 17.
Tatura trainer David Abrahams upset the apple cart for early quaddie punters at Monday’s Charlton meeting.
Most punters thought the Julie Douglas-trained Ozzie Punta was the anchor leg in the early quaddie, but the Abraham-trained and Ellen Tormey-driven Major Milestone spoilt the party with a stout finishing burst.
It was the three-year-old Art Major’s second win in 17 tries with the other success claimed six starts earlier at Echuca on March 24.
Major Milestone is out of the Christian Cullen mare Illawong Sister Styx, a winner of 10 races and who has also left Always Be Miki, who has won six races to date.
Shepparton-trained pacer Little Miss Lily has got the visitor’s draw to contend with in the Redcliffe Oaks tomorrow night in Queensland.
The Patrick Ryan-trained daughter of Lennytheshark comes from the extreme outside barrier five draw on the second row in the $52,000 feature over the 2280m trip.
Little Miss Lily has not missed a place in her past six starts which have produced two wins, but will need plenty of luck in the run to be a threat from her awkward draw.
Big race driver Anthony Butt will be in the sulky on Little Miss Lily in a field in which every runner has had wins in their past five starts.
The Paul Weidenbach-trained trotter Kalarney Prince got the maiden win he deserved at Tuesday night’s Kilmore meeting.
The Bad Boy Truscott six-year-old grey had not finished further back than fifth in his previous 11 starts and punters came to the conclusion this was finally his race, supporting him into a $2.70 favourite.
Caught outside the leader early Kalarney Prince received cover for the last 1500m and got the better of the second favourite, the Isabel Walsh-trained Body Builder, in the concluding stages.
Bred by trots stalwart Brian King, Kalarney Prince was driven by Chris Svanosio and was having only his 17th start.
Another Goulburn Valley-trained trotter to win at Kilmore was the Cameron Maggs-trained and driven Super Service who bombed his rivals late to notch his seventh win.
Maggs produced the drive of the night to extricate the five-year-old son of Majestic Son from three back on the pegs halfway down the home straight into clear running four deep before powering home to nab the well performed Kheiron at the finishing line.
Super Service is out the winning Skyvalley mare Sunday Service.
Kyabram owners Greg Caldwell and his son Rod cheered home Tenlilfonzies in the $10,000 Hygain Trotters Handicap final at Globe Derby on Tuesday night.
The meeting was transferred from last Saturday night and Tenlilfonzies went into race a $2.25 favourite after a heat win the previous week and three other wins at Globe Derby since being sent west by his owners.
Tenlilfonzies is trained by Ingrid Smith, wife of David Smith, who drives the five-year-old son of Fling It, who was bred by Rob Shellie from the 10 times winning S J’s Photo mare Idoido who has also left Do Ball, a winner of seven races.
Tenlilfonzies stepped straight to the front from barrier two and won comfortably.
Monday: Horsham (d)
Tuesday: Shepparton (n)
Wednesday: Geelong (n)
Thursday: Kilmore (n)
